Page 163 - the-brothers-karamazov

Chapter 3

The Confession of a

Passionate Heart — in Verse

LYOSHA remained for some time irresolute after hear-
Aing the command his father shouted to him from the
carriage. But in spite of his uneasiness he did not stand
still. That was not his way. He went at once to the kitchen to
find out what his father had been doing above. Then he set
off, trusting that on the way he would find some answer to
the doubt tormenting him. I hasten to add that his father’s
shouts, commanding him to return home ‘with his mattress
and pillow’ did not frighten him in the least. He under-
stood perfectly that those peremptory shouts were merely
‘a flourish’ to produce an effect. In the same way a trades-
man in our town who was celebrating his name-day with a
party of friends, getting angry at being refused more vodka,
smashed up his own crockery and furniture and tore his
own and his wife’s clothes, and finally broke his windows,
all for the sake of effect. Next day, of course, when he was
sober, he regretted the broken cups and saucers. Alyosha
knew that his father would let him go back to the monastery

1 The Brothers Karamazov